Catwalk Catchup: PFW Alexander McQueen Spring/Summer 2012

We should technically say Presentation Catch-up, but that doesn't quite roll of the tongue in the same way. We weren't disappointed with the Alexander McQueen Spring/Summer 2012 presentation, even though there was a teeny tiny part of us that was relatively sceptical. Sarah Burton stayed true to the brand and the man himself; there were lots of bird-inspired pieces which we have a sneaky feeling is a tribute to the late designer, as he was famously obsessed with the creatures.

A versatile, classic collection that captures the essence of the brand perfectly!

Emma Watson Covers Elle France September 2011

The September issue of French Elle features none other than our lovely Emma Watson. After seeing her rock up to the GQ Men of the Year awards in an Alexander McQueen tartan dress and now on this front cover, we're beginning to think Emma has found a new favourite pattern. She does look rather good in it though, so we can see why. Loving the autumnal colours of the magazine and indeed on Emma's face - can't really flaw this cover. Nice one, Elle; Nice one, Emma!

Goodbye to McQueen and Hello to Prada and Schiaparelli

We got very excited about Alexander McQueen's Savage Beauty exhibit leaving the Costume Institute at the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art, mainly because we hoped it would be headed to London. But we didn't think about what it would be replaced with…until now. 

Well, we don't even have to think and let our imaginations run wild with a world of possibility, because the rumour mill has been turning and has done all the guesswork for us. Apparently the next big names to be honoured at the Met will be Elsa Schiaparelli and Miuccia Prada - not a bad followup. 

We're very interested to see how this develops. Schiaparelli's exhibit at the Philiadelphia Museum of Art attracted over 80,000 visitors in 2003, so imagine what injecting a little bit of Prada into the mix will do for audience figures? Watch this space! 

Alexander McQueen's Savage Beauty is Coming Home!

Almost as unsurprising as TOWIE's Mark and Lauren heading to splitsville is the news that Alexander McQueen's Savage Beauty is coming home! Except this is news that we genuinely care about and are doing a little excited dance as we speak. (Obviously we don't have a patch on Anna Dello Russo's fine footwork…) Nothing has been confirmed by McQueen officials, but Grazia editor Melanie Rickey reckons it's a dead cert and that is good enough for us! 

What is a little bit surprising though, is when it's apparently getting here. We thought that, what with the V&A being under renovation and re-opening its doors pretty soon, it would have been the perfect venue for it; and Savage Beauty would have been the perfect exhibit to christen it. 

Apparently the exhibition is scheduled for 2013, which annoyingly does make sense because it's the 20th anniversary of the house of McQueen. 2013 seems like a long time to wait, so we are hoping that something got lost in translation and we will in fact be getting our Savage Beauty display this year. Somerset House, The Truman Brewery and Battersea Powerstation are among the potential venues, but we will continue to scream "V&A" until someone listens - come on people, it's the easiest option and means we can feast our eyes on the gorgeous exhibit sooner! 

There's No Place Like Home

So, I've been away for a few months - three to be exact. Be it travelling the world, finding myself, exploring the seven seas or all the cliches under the sun, the important thing is I'm back and hungrier for fashion than ever. I've seen a lot over the past few months; what is it they say? You don't know what you've got until it's gone? I prefer Dorothy's philosophy on life - there's no place like home. 

In my absence I've discovered that Paris, Milan and New York all great but it's London that has a firm grip on my heart. Why else would it have been named the fashion capital of the world? This is the spiritual home of the Duchess of Cambridge and Alexander McQueen - two fashion icons of legendary status.

Yes we had those pesky riots but if we brush them under the carpet, London's pretty alright. And I couldn't be happier to be back :) 

Virtual Shoe Rack: Alexander McQueen ankle boots

Just because the weather's picking up a bit, doesn't mean we should neglect beautiful closed footwear. These Alexander McQueen embossed leather ankle boots are blowing our minds. Think of the outfit possibilities - think of the heads that will turn! 

Vogue Paris Collections A/W 2012

As if Vogue isn't a bible enough, the Vogue Collections editions that come around every season to showcase the hottest items are also fashion bibles in their own right. Take a look at the cover for the Vogue Paris Collections for the Autumn Winter 2012 season - such a tease for what's inside - although you wouldn't think it was for an autumn/winter collection if the vibrance of the garments is anything to go by. Here are a few snippets from the special edition (all chosen by Emmanuelle Alt of course): 

Images courtesy of 'I want to be an Alt'

Must-read: Alexander McQueen Savage Beauty the book

For those of you who haven't been to the exhibit at the Met yet, or who live too far away like us (*sniff*), the Savage Beauty book could well be the next best thing. The book, by Andrew Bolton and with contributions from Susannah Frankel and Tim Blanks, acts as an accompaniment to the exhibition. It features some if the most famous and iconic designs made famous by the legend that is the late Lee McQueen, a look back at his career with his own commentary, as well as an interview with the woman of the moment, current Alexander McQueen Creative Director Sarah Burton. A stunning book with 240 pages full of beautiful words and imagery.

Daphne Guinness on display at Barneys

Literally. Miss Guinness took to the window of Barneys to get dressed for her appearance at the Met Gala. Some may have thought she got lost on her way to the dressing room, but all will agree that it was a great preview of things to come at the event in terms of art, beauty and fashion.

What the celebs wore to the Met Gala

The outfits just got better and better throughout the night at the Met Gala, don’t you agree? We don’t think there were many fashion faux pas’ last night, so here is our top 12 (ten was a bit too hard for us!) ultimate favourite looks; well, 13 if you count Uncle Karl :) 

Jessica Alba and Kate Hudson joined Victoria Beckham’s Royal Wedding appearance in proving that being fabulous doesn’t stop when you’re pregnant.

Dream Wardrobe Piece: Alexander McQueen

In keeping with the hype over Kate Middleton's wedding dress and the Met Gala, we thought we'd look for a dream wardrobe piece from the house of McQueen. Although we don't think there is a single item we wouldn't wear with a beaming smile on our faces, this iris print chiffon silk gown has taken our fancy even more than any of the other today. Swoooooon! 

Alexander McQueen Met Gala preview

As you may already know (because we keep reminding you), the Alexander McQueen exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York is opening on Wednesday and will run until 31 July. The celebs have been gathering in their masses to attend the preview, and we can honestly say that from what we have seen so far through various pictures via Twitter, there hasn't been a single fashion foot put wrong. Gisele and Daphne Guiness are just a few of the celebs who arrived in McQueen, but we hope by tomorrow, we will see the whole selection.

Coco Rocha, always known for her impeccable fashion choices, said that she wasn't sure what McQueen number to arrive in, as so many of the signature and famous looks were already on display in the museum. Rumour has it that Kate Middleton's wedding dress will be on display too, so we will have to wait and see whether or not this is true. Tonight's gala is also the first event Sarah Burton has attended since the Royal Wedding, so you can be sure she will receive a toast or two during the Scottish-themed dinner (to celebrate McQueen's Scottish roots of course). 

We've previously teased you with pictures of what will be featured in the exhibit, as well as a sneaky peak at Savage Beauty, but we hope to unveil more in the next few days, as well as some of the hottest celebrity looks. Needless to say, we are both excited, and a little bit jealous.

Head to metmuseum.org for more details on the exhibition.

Images courtesy of Richard Young/Rex via The Mail Online

Fashion Compendium's Royal Wedding Round-up

Unless you've been living under layer upon layer of rocks, you will have without a doubt had your Royal Wedding fix already. The tweets, the status updates, texts, phone calls, websites, newspapers, blogs, the lot. So instead of bulks of endless text about the wedding (which, don't get us wrong, we would quite happily do without a single complaint) we've decided to round it up in a Fashion Compendium nutshell. (But we'd just like to point out that catching a glimpse of Kate Middleton's Sarah Burton for McQueen dress for the first time is a moment that will stay with us forever - we squealed with excitement with what we presume was with the rest of the world. But we digress...)

Here's a look at our favourite wedding guests outfits. We don't know why Victoria Beckham was so worried, we thought she was one of the best dressed guests there in her dark blue dress from her latest collection. The Queen rocked up in a lovely yellow outfit which was perfect for the weather and the glorious occasion. 

Above: Zara Phillips, Princess Letizia of Spain, Victoria Beckham, Princess Victoria of Sweden, Her Majesty The Queen

The Bride and her Maid of Honour's after party dresses were just as show stopping as the ones they wore for the wedding itself. Kate Middleton wore another stunner by Sarah Burton at Alexander McQueen, and her sister and Maid of Honour Pippa once wowed in a beautiful aqua-coloured Alice Temperley gown. We love how Kate Middleton, or should we say, the Duchess of Cambridge reverted to her signature all-down hairstyle. 

The Princes were pure perfection weren't they? Loved the cheekiness of Harry catching a glimpse of the Bride before his brother. And seeing the little sniggers and looks of assurance the Bride and Groom gave each other throughout the service was just magical, wasn't it? And we'd just like to take a moment to note how adorable all the little bridesmaids and pageboys were. We wonder if they knew they were majorly involved in the making of history? 

Congratulations to The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. We join the world in wishing them a lifetime of happiness together! 

All picture credits on the images

Alexander McQueen celebration in US Vogue

The May edition of American Vogue pays tribute to the legend that is Alexander McQueen.  Their 'Alexander the Great' celebration revisits some of the looks from Savage Beauty, which is to open at the Costume Institute exhibition at New York's Metropolitan museum next month. 

Kate Moss in the UK's Harper's Bazaar

Just because we are loving Alexander McQueen even more than usual these days in the run up to the opening of the McQueen exhibit at the Met, and believe it or not, it's been a while since Kate Moss featured on the blog. We showed you two of the front covers for the Harper's Bazaar UK May issue with Miss Kate Moss modelling the iconic McQueen dress which was made famous in the hologram, so now we decided to reveal some of what's inside the wonderful issue of the magazine. 

Dream Wardrobe Piece: Alexander McQueen dress

Alexander McQueen; side peplum crepe dress. The perfect staple for effortless elegance with a gorgeous silhouette. 

Some more snaps of the Met's McQueen exhibit

The opening day of the exhibit (May 4) is getting closer,  and the catalogue for Savage Beauty was obtained buy The Cut and put online for all to see. These pictures are such a tease, we can't wait to see the entire exhibition in all it's gorgeous McQueen glory. 

Kim Kardashian dazzling in McQueen

In case you haven't already realised, we love a good Kardashian story here at Fashion Compendium. And since we're having a bit of an Alexander McQueen-fest this morning, we were very excited to see Kim Kardashian attending Khloe and Lamar Odom's 'Unbreakable' fragrance launch in none other than a fabulous McQueen gold embellished top from the S/S 2011 Resort collection. Kim never fails to impress. 

Kim Kardashian image courtesy of Photo Agency/Zimbio

Alexander McQueen's limited edition skull scarf

Here's what you need to know. The silk neck accessory goes on sale in May and retails for £290. It features a combination of different skulls, including the iconic trademark skull on the classic McQueen scarves, and the more recent Jellyfish skull from the Plato Atlantis collection, and the Folk skull from the recent Sarah Burton Spring/Summer 2011 runway. 

Make a note in your diaries to head to the Alexander McQueen official website in May; we doubt these will stick around for long. 

Kate Moss digs out her famous McQueen dress for Harper's Bazaar cover

Officially out today, the front cover of the UK's Harper's Bazaar features Kate Moss (yes another Kate Moss story, but we can't help it, the woman's a legend!) in the dress made famous when she appeared as a hologram on the Alexander McQueen Runway back in 2006. Don't believe us? Take a look at the video for yourself. 

Alexander McQueen really was an inspirational man; RIP.